Morning journal and courier., 1887-10-18
News by Telegraph
FROM ALL QUARTERS.
CRASH WENT THE WALLS.
An Unfinished School Build
ing TumbIes.
FIVE MEN KILLED OUTRIGHT
And Five More Seriously
Injured.
HENRY IRVING PAYS TRIBUTE
To the Memory of Eng
lands Bard.
HENRY IRVING PAYS TRIBUTE
FIVE MEN KILLED OUTRIGHT.

FIVE MEN KILLED OUTRIGHT.
An Diminished school Building Falls
with a Crash-The Result of Bad
Work Hastily and IEnerantly Done.
NEW YORK, Oct. 17-An unfinished school
building attached to the Church OF Our Lady
of Mt. Carmel on East One Hundred and
Fifteenth street fell with crash to-day while
score of men were at work in the building
under the supervision of DIR. E. A. Kerner,
the priest in charge. Five were killed out
right and ten more or less badly injured
Father Kerner was among the latter. The
rest were workmen. The casualty was due
to bad work, hastily and ignorantly done.
Those killed outright as far as known, were:
John Durken, workman; Henry Rientz,
blacksmith; Jeralome Laura, a workman;
Paulo Gilbert, workman. The injured
were: A. E. Kerner, the priest, hurt inter-
nally and suffering from shock; James Mann,
head bruised and internal injuries; Robert
Young, head badly cut; Thomas Herman, i'm
ternal injuries, head hurt; Florin Dunn, arm
broken, head badly cut; Edward Welsh head
injured; Robert Levy, fourteen years old, in
ternal INJURIES; Demerick Porter, general
severe injuries; Guissepi Curto, general
bruises; John S. Conway, head cut.
The building was separated from the
church by small frame building and on the
west was the blacksmith shop of PLANES &
Gantzen. When finished the school house
would have been four stories high. The side
and rear walls were up above the third story,
while the front had hardly been started. The
work had been done with undue haste. The
foundations had been laid scarcely two
months ago. Father Kerner was in a hurry
to get the school ready for the children of
his parish. He had been repeatedly warned
that he was going too fast with the construc-
ton. A contractor had called Father Ker-
ner's attention to the absence of braces un-
der the floor beams in the basement The
beams are twenty four feet long. The priest
was on the top of the building at $3.50 o'clock
this afternoon when the crash came
The floor beams unable to bear the
increasing load broke. The entire middle
section of the building, which was about one
hundred feet long, caved in in general col
lapse. The west wall fell outward upon the
blacksmith shop, crushing it like an eggshelI
and killing three horses and the man Henry
Rientz. 1t was said that twenty-one men
were in the cellar of the collapsed building
or on the top. All bat two or three who
were in the rear portion were in the wreck. |
Firemen, police, ambulances and ready hands
were soon on the scene. Father Kerner was
thrown to the forward part of the wreck, |
landing on his feet. He fell into a pile of /
twisted, broken and splintered rafters |
and Orders. When taken cut he was insen- 1
sible. He has sustained probably fatal |
injuries. Conway was found covered with |
bricks and broken timbers. Two shovel |
handles had formed an arch over him and |
saved him from instant death. When some |
Of the debris removed it was found that |
Conveys coat was fast in the death grip of 1
Laura and it remained there after Conway |
was pulled ont. The boy Levy was in the |
blacksmith shop where he had taken his |
fathers horse to be shod. He was pinned /
down by the debris and when taken out /
about six inches of the bones of his right leg
protruded through the flesh just above the |
ankle. The little fellow was unconscious
and was removed to the hospital.
The building was twenty-five by one hun
bred feet. The constant jalring of donkey
engine which was used in hosting material
caused the weak walls to oscillate till they
soppled over. It is said Father Kerner su-
oervised the work because he wished to save
The expense of a contractor. Builders say
The mortar used in the fallen structure was
very poor. The walls were only sixteen inches
5hick. One of the dead bodies recovered |
mas not been identified. It is thought
hat several more bodies will be found in the |
wreck to- morrow. Frank Kerner came orr
yinalip from London where he had been |
;ather COMPRESSOR for Cardinal Manning.